Page 50 of Reckless Harmony

She shrugged. “I think you like this Rayna Abrams.”

“I don’t,” he said quickly. “I hate her, Mom.”

“There is a thin line between hate and lust,” she said.

“And this conversation is over. Goodbye, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, my boy. Tell that sweet cat and her adorable kittens that grandma also loves them.”

She laughed at how he rolled his eyes before blowing him a kiss and ending the call.

He tossed his phone on the bed and petted Molly absentmindedly when she jumped out of the container and sat on his chest, purring loudly. Despite what he’d told Rayna, he was, in fact, keeping Molly and the kittens on the bed in their container at night.

It was no big deal. The bed was plenty big enough for him and the container, and this way, if Molly needed him at night, he was right there. She spent most of the night with her babies, but he’d woken up more than once to find her curled into his armpit or sleeping between his legs. It was kind of nice to have her there if he was being honest. He would never admit this to anyone, but having Molly in the house made him feel less lonely.

He rubbed his chin against Molly’s forehead, smiling at how her purring grew louder. His phone rang, and he glanced at it before answering it. “Hey, Hollis. What’s up?”

“Hi. Are you still planning to come into the office tomorrow for the staff meeting?”

“I am,” he said.

“Can I reschedule it for two instead of four? A few of our employees are helping out with the Little Whiskers fundraiser and are hoping to leave a bit early.”

“Two o’clock works. Are you attending the fundraiser?”

“I’ve decided to buy a ticket,” Hollis said. “It’s for a good cause.”

“It is,” he said. When you purchase yours, could you also buy one for me? Put both of them on my card.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Hollis said. “I’ll have your ticket here at the office tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Oh, one more thing. Can you arrange for Rayna Abrams to receive an access card to the gym? Let her know she can use it whenever she’d like.”

Always the professional, Hollis didn’t pause. “Of course, Mr. Stark. I’ll set it up this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Hollis.”

He ended the call and kissed Molly’s forehead when she chirped at him. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not doing this because I’m worried about her injuring herself with that shit she calls gym equipment at her house.”

Molly stared at him unblinkingly, and he cleared his throat before looking away. “It’s just another way of convincing her to sell her property. That’s it, cat.”

Molly chirped at him before jumping into the nest with the babies. With a loud sigh, Stark grabbed his laptop. He was behind on work because the memory of Rayna licking his thumb kept popping into his head, and the knowledge that if they hadn’t been interrupted by his goddamn cousin, he might now know exactly how it felt to have his cock buried deep inside of Rayna’s perfect body.

His dick was already starting to harden, and he adjusted it with a grimace. Christ, he really needed to get laid.

CHAPTER 19

“So, Stark not only stopped and helped you with a stray dog in the dark and the cold, but he also drove to the south side with you, paid for a bunch of the rescue’s vet bills, and is continuing to foster Molly and her babies even though you have another foster home for them?” Emma said.

“When you say it like that, Emmy, he almost sounds like a nice guy.” Rayna flopped onto the couch, wincing when a spring in the worn out piece of furniture poked into her butt. She shifted further to the right, watching with amusement as the black and white cat sitting in the middle of the living room snagged a kitten as she raced by him, pinned her down with one paw and roughly groomed her. “Can you believe how much Freddie loves these babies? Normally, he is either indifferent or actively hates any other cats that come through here.”

“Yes, yes, it’s very cute,” Emma said. “Let’s get back to how nice Isaac Stark is being to you.”

“He’s only doing it because he thinks it’ll convince me to sell my property to him. It’s why he bought a ticket to the fundraiser and gave me an access card to his personal gym.”

“Wait… what?” Emma stopped with her mug halfway to her mouth. “He’s letting you use his gym? Are you serious right now?”

Rayna nodded. “Yeah. His assistant, Hollis, contacted me about purchasing tickets for the fundraiser. Then she asked if I could come by the office because she had an access card for me for the gym. I picked it up earlier this afternoon.”

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